Garden of Nightmares
by Buntaichou
Summary: I can't think of a summary other than they wake up in an alternate realm, ALMOST identical to their own. set after end of anime/chapter 30, but before the recent chapters. rated T for horror themes. warning; character death.


Horror fic that might make you cry...

warnings: character death, OOCness, blood, gore, etc. no sex.

disclaimer: Shingeki no Kyojin belongs to Isayama-sama.

* * *

_Doors open, voices drone._

_Which one will lead me home?_

**1. different.**

Eren's eyes opened slowly, not focussed as his sleepy mind tried to wake up, heart still racing.

Yet another nightmare, wherein Hanji would conduct yet another experiment.

He shuddered, feeling cold all of a sudden as he felt around for his sheets, only to touch a bare stone floor.

"What..." he sat up, eyes wide as he stared around, aware of a presence next to him, leaning over.

A hand clamped over his mouth when he went to scream, forcing his mouth shut. A warm weight settled behind him, emitting a relieved sigh as the hand moved away, and rested on Eren's shoulder.

"Sorry, Eren, I didn't know it was you." Armin whispered, blue eyes wide.

"... Armin, where-"

A light illuminated the room dully, and both boys turned to trace it to its source; somewhere down the corridor outside of the room. Footsteps echoed off the cold tiles, resonating quietly in the silent room. Like a distorted wave, voices slowly snapped into place, joining the footsteps.

"... if he's not dead... oi, Eren! You alive, brat?"

Eren stood, head spinning momentarily as he staggered to the door and peered out.

"Corporal?" he called, spotting Levi walking towards him, head down and just in front of Hanji.

Those grey eyes snapped up, narrowing at the sight of him but within seconds, he shifted his gaze to Hanji, who had inhaled sharply, hurrying to Eren's side and checking him over, which did include trying to take off his shirt.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Eren hissed, struggling. Levi pushed Hanji out of the way, shoving Eren against the wall.

"You wanna know what's happening, brat? I'll fucking tell you; people are missing. Important people, and not so important people. Only a few but still. But that's not all-"

"C-corporal... where are we?"

Levi let go of Eren's collar, crossing his arms and watching the boy cough.

"HQ, last I check-"

"This isn't headquarters." Armin said quietly, startling the others. He glanced around, a strange look in his eyes as he shook his head, "everything's wrong. This castle is the same but different."

Eren looked his friend over, frowning as he followed his gaze.

"How would you know?"

Armin looked down, almost guiltily.

"I've been awake for a few hours... I was walking around, that's how I found you... its also how I found a garden, in a courtyard. Unless there is a secret courtyard in HQ that I didn't know about," he looked up as he spoke, casting a questioning look at the other three, who were just staring at him, "this HQ isn't _our_ HQ."

"Alternate plane of existence." Hanji mused aloud, hints of a grin tugging at her lips.

"How... how would that work?" Eren asked slowly, trying to get away from Levi as the corporal grabbed both he and Armin by the forearms, pulling them with him, down the dimly lit hallway.

Hanji hurried after them, blowing out the sputtering candle.

"Quite simply; think of it as another world, just like ours, but different!"

"Different? How so?"

Levi sighed, rolling his eyes as he turned a corner, releasing the two from his grip.

"We'll find out soon enough, obviously. Oi, Eren's friend."

"Yessir?"

"Where's the damn garden?" Levi looked in the direction Armin pointed, to a dark room that didn't seem that welcoming, "Alright. You lead."

Armin paled, seeming on the verge of crying but with a glance at Eren, he swallowed the tears and nodded, forcing a smile- even then, it bordered on being nervous, extremely so.

Hanji followed Armin, with Eren and Levi in tow, the former looking ill.

"Corporal, can we please-"

"If you're gonna vomit, do it over there." the shorter man gestured vaguely away from them, and the door. Eren wrinkled his nose, shaking his head as his steps slowed down, turquoise eyes studying the doorway as he stepped inside the pitch black room. He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to get used to it, but they didn't adjust. He felt Levi's hand brush blindly against his back, soon closing over his arm, pulling him closer, as one might do to a dog with a leash.

"Don't touch anything. Don't try anything. Because, kid, if you go fucking berserker on us; I will kill you. Remember that." the words came as barely a hiss from between Levi's teeth as he led Eren further into the room.

Eren nodded, knowing the other wouldn't see nor feel the action, but not particularly caring.

"Armin?"

"Where are you?"

"Just inside the do-"

"Two steps inside, to the left." Levi corrected, sighing.

"Okay. Step forward, _carefully._" Armin instructed, his voice sounding strained, coming from somewhere in front of them. Eren felt with his feet, cautiously shuffling closer when he felt a step. Letting that foot slip over the edge, he misjudged the distance, thinking it was a shallow step. Next thing he knew, his leg was gone out from under him, as well as the other- which had been poised to step as well. He let out a cry of surprise when his body hit the stairs, jarring painfully on each step.

"Jaeger?"

_Levi's voice... he sounds alarmed haha..._ Eren thought groggily, rubbing his head as he sat up, legs sprawled but apparently uninjured, bar a sparking pain in his ankle.

"I'm down here, Corporal!" he called back, shielding his eyes when Hanji struck a match, setting fire to something he couldn't quite see. Armin moved down to the base of the stairs, worriedly holding a hand out to Eren.

"I told you to be careful."

"You sound like Mikasa when you say that, Armin..." Eren muttered in response, accepting the hand but grimacing lightly as the pain in his ankle increased, "Speaking of which, where is Mikasa?"

Armin sighed, supporting the taller boy as much as he could.

"Not sure... same with the others. I haven't seen them around."

"We have..." Levi interjected monotonously as he passed them, "They're fine. Staying in the dining room, under Erwin's orders. Speaking of which, he's looking for you too."

Hanji peered down at Eren's ankle, frowning.

"Does it hurt, Eren?"

"Hm? Yeah, a little." Eren followed her gaze to his bare feet. The right one, which ached, had a plethora of bruises marring it and it seemed some part of it had bled.

"Tell me in ten minutes. I'll check it again then..." Hanji looked away, concern glittering in the depths of her brown eyes.

All was silent for a few moments as they walked, led by Armin- and Eren.

Then they came to another set of stairs, leading up, up, up, to yet more darkness.

They ploughed on, despite a menagerie of things on their minds; food, pain, Titans, the constant darkness of this place.

Armin reached blindly, his hands feeling for a doorknob, smiling to himself when he found it, turning and pushing on the heavy wooden door.

It opened out into a beautiful courtyard, with an almost perfectly still pond in the centre, surrounded by low hedges and scrubs. Dark blue lavender bordered a pebbled pathway that wound through the courtyard, complementing the mix of white roses and light cream-coloured peonies.

Eren moved forward, but Levi stopped him. Frowning, the dark haired man moved around Eren, looking out at the pond. Something wasn't right... He moved silently to the waters edge, eyes skimming over it, gazing into the depths. He shook his head, looking back at the others.

"Oi, Eren. You stink, c'mere. I wanna chuck you in."

"What if he drowns?"

Eren didn't speak, eyes widening as his eyes picked up on a strange shape on the footpath.

"Oh my... L-Levi...?"

Hanji looked to where Eren was staring and gaped, raising a hand to cover her mouth.

She swallowed, forcing her legs to work, to move. Her frame shook as she neared the spot on the footpath, all eyes on her as she fell to her knees.

"Hanji...?"

She didn't speak for a moment, her sobs piercing the air, full of anguish.

"... the Commander. He's dead."

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;-; Review, mine lovelies...

until next chapter,

sayounara!

_Buntaichou


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